By Gaurav Sharma

Beijing, Aug 28 (IANS): China saw the hottest summer this year since 1961 with the average temperature reaching 22 degrees Celsius, the country's Met department has said.

The department said a total of 55 weather monitoring stations posted record high daily temperatures.

Compared to normal years, the national average reading from June to August 26 was one degree higher, while the summer high temperatures lasted longer, covered more areas and came along with more extreme weather this year, Zhang Zuqiang, Director of the emergency relief and public service department of the China Meteorological Administration, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

In August, China's national average temperature reached 22.2 degrees Celsius, 1.2 degrees higher than normal years.

Some 93 weather stations reported extreme high temperatures mostly in Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Hubei and Shandong.

Zhang said the lingering high temperatures in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were detrimental to the growth of crops.

In September, most regions of the country are expected to record an average temperature close to or higher than that of the normal years, with normal or slightly heavier precipitation, which is conducive to the growth of autumn crops.